UNIT 9: RESPONDING TO RESISTANCE

This chapter is about the resistance of teachers and students to make changes in the classroom because they are accustomed to do things as they did before. Besides, it establishes that student-centered instruction works when it is well applied but most of the time it is difficult because students are afraid of doing something new. Talking about teachers we can notice that they also feel uncomfortable with this situation because they need to have responsibility and self-direction from their students.

In addition, it mentions some ways to recognize resistance from learners. For example, they fixate on the details or ask irrelevant questions.   According to  (Wiley, 1991) there are other ways to detect resistance; such as, verbal aggression or  when learners don't do the assignments.

However, teachers should look for strategies or methods to encourage their learners learn in a different way.(Loder, 2014) points out that learners can lose their fear by applying five strategies in the classroom. For example, making learners reframe their goals,visualize the obstacles,uncover their story and ask three powerful questions.For example;  What did I learn from this situation? or How can I grow as a person from this experience?

In conclusion, I believe learner centered approach is too difficult to manage for a teacher but it is possible by doing interesting activities in the class; such as, applying games or activities with topics that they are familiar. 

REFERENCES:

Loder, V. (2014). How To Conquer The Fear Of Failure - 5 Proven Strategies. Retrieved from 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/vanessaloder/2014/10/30/how-to-move-beyond-the-fear-of-failure-5-

proven-strategies/#6bd58aae1b78

Wiley, J. (1991). Students' resistance in the classroom. Retrieved from 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3195659?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents